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Village of Woodmere swears in first female fire chief in Cuyahoga County

Gina DeVito-Staub, a 25-year veteran of the Twinsburg Fire Department, becomes the first woman to serve as the top fire official in any Cuyahoga County community.

WOODMERE, Ohio — Gina DeVito-Staub was sworn in as fire chief of the Village of Woodmere today, becoming the first woman to serve as the top fire official of any municipality in Cuyahoga County.

50-year-old DeVito-Staub was administered the oath of office by Woodmere Mayor Benjamin Holbert III at 12:05 p.m. on Friday. Earlier this month, she was confirmed by the village’s council after being nominated by Holbert in June.

Holbert said in June that DeVito-Staub “emerged from a crowded field of applicants who applied for the top job in the fire division.”

“It is my hope that Chief DeVito-Staub will inspire more women to consider careers in fire suppression and emergency medicine,” said Holbert.

According to the village and statistics from the U.S. Fire Administration, only 8% of firefighters hired in fire departments nationwide are women.

DeVito-Staub will officially begin leading the 29-person department of part-time firefighters, EMTs, paramedics and fire inspectors. She joins the Village of Woodmere after serving 25 years with the Twinsburg Fire Department, where she ranked as lieutenant from 2006 to 2019 before earning a promotion to captain.

With DeVito-Staub’s installation, the village, says it becomes the first community in Cuyahoga County to have its safety division led by two women in the top jobs of fire and police chief. Sheila Mason has been the village’s Police Chief since 2012.

DeVito-Staub holds a degree in biology from Hiram College an MBA and Masters in Leadership from Grand Canyon University in Phoenix. She is a also graduate of the National Fire Academy’s executive fire officer program and a member of the Summit County Hazardous Materials Team.

 

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